Cingular's Blackberry Users Can Request Credit For Service Outage

By consumeristcareyApril 21, 2007

If your beloved Blackberry runs on Cingular’s network, you may be entitled to a one day service credit. For power users, the refund might be worth up to $2.50. That is not as good as a new girlfriend, but it is something.

The memo Cingular prepared in the wake of last week’s massive Blackberry outage, after the jump…

What’s Happening?
The nationwide RIM outage received a great deal of publicity and some customers are calling to request service credits. BMG leadership has decided that any customer requesting the request should receive a 1 day service credit.

How Am I Impacted?
ANS should NOT transfer these calls to BEUC (Business End User Care.) For this issue only, our ASRs will apply the credit.

If you receive a call in which the customer requests a credit for the RIM outage this week:

1. Explain that due to the inconvenience of the nationwide RIM outage affecting all carriers, Cingular the New AT&T is happy to provide a one day service credit for the loss of service. The credit will appear on the customers next invoice.

2. Identify the monthly service charge for the RIM service

3. Complete the attached e-mail template and send it to the ASRs

4. Quote the customer the amount of their credit based on the table below

5. If the customer is not satisfied please politely explain that the outage occurred for less than 24 hours and that 1 day’s service credit covers that loss of service. If necessary, escalate to team managers or floor support using normal escalation procedures. Do not transfer the call to BEUC.

Credit Amount based on the Monthly Service Charge (MSC):
Customer’s Monthly Service Charge for Blackberry / Credit Amount

$74.99 / $2.50

$69.99 / $2.33

$64.99 / $2.17

$59.99 / $2.00

$49.99 / $1.67

$44.99 / $1.50

$39.99 / $1.33

$34.99 / $1.17

$29.99 / $1.00

Be careful if you are running low on minutes; the overage costs on the call may exceed the refund amount. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

OK – so here’s my issue with how Cingular handles customer service: Why should anyone have to call at all? I mean, they KNOW that all of their Blackberry users were affected. They know exactly what happened.

Why not just make an across-the-board adjustment, and then send out an email to these folks letting them know that they’ve made the credit to cover the one day loss of use.

Wouldn’t that generate more goodwill and be a better example of service than forcing however many thousands of people to call in, try to get to a rep, and get the credit applied?